Mordiggian locks the 'player retention' thread

quote from: Lizzie on Today at 08:07:49 AM
There are a whole lot MORE volunteer muds that fail miserably because no one is held accountable due to "I'm just a volunteer, therefore I don't have to do anything if I don't want to." In addition, Armageddon has a niche audience, whose only real common trait is they enjoy muds. Not everyone likes the magick system, not everyone wants it to change. Some of them want to condense the playerbase in fewer clans, some want them more spread out and more clans opened. Some want this, while others want that. You *CANNOT* make the playerbase happy. Some of them will be annoyed/irritated/miserable/disappointed, and some will be happy/overjoyedsatisfied/content.

Just because you think something isn't working, and therefore the game should change to fit your idea of what works - doesn't mean that a change in that direction will make everyone else happy. In fact, it doesn't mean it'll make ANYONE else happy. It might - but you have no way of knowing one way or another.

I'd love to see some changes. But I also know that what suits me doesn't necessarily suit anyone else. I don't hold a hard line of "fix it or I"m leaving" because even if they DID do what I asked - I have no way of knowing until then, whether or not I'll like the results.

Quote from: Taijan on Today at 11:47:33 AM
Re: Request tool

In the olden days (not really all that long ago), character reports and such were delivered to an animated NPC superior if you were in a clan, and were either cast into a void or maybe emailed to staff if you were unclanned, I guess. I never reported things back in those days. When I was giving those reports, they were kinda nice. It let my character feel like they were building a relationship with their direct superior and get real time feedback.

Quote from: Old Kank on Today at 11:20:04 AM
Quote from: Fujikoma on Today at 07:06:40 AM
This is only human, it feels unfair to the person on the receiving end, whether justified or not, and is magnified by the veil of secrecy, which, in a game like this, is necessary. In a game where there is significant emotional investment... this can cause a good deal more frustration in players with a lower tolerance (usually newer) and inspire them to find something else to do, or, in the event something seemingly more unfair happens, even a well adjusted player, even a stoic player may choose to move on.

Not surprisingly, some people take issue with others wielding power, authority, secrecy, and judgement over them. It doesn't matter how noble the intentions are, or the direct form it takes (I'm convinced some of the account note vitriol is just a proxy for a general sense of resentment), it's going to ruffle some feathers. Whether or not this is finally a problem worth addressing is up to the staff, but I'd say it is.

I don't think the staff are doomed when it comes to this problem, but it may take a pretty big cultural shift.
Understand that when players get upset about stuff, it's probably because they're passionate about this game, their character, or whatever. Try and channel that passion, rather than shoot it down with style and sarcasm.
Most staff should focus more on facilitating, less on enforcement. Code, and tell stories.
Get out of the business of RP critiquing entirely. We can do workshops on the GDB or in special in-game sessions if people feel really strongly about wanting feedback.
Account and player notes should be based exclusively on objective data.
Set up a thorough enforcement policy for offenses that steps outside the veil of staff-player secrecy and empowers players. Set up a system of warnings that ranges from, "We noticed something fishy; feel free to submit an explanation to your clan staff," to "This is your third and final warning, if this behavior continues, a formal complaint will be sent to Nyr and the enforcement team." If you're going to accuse someone of doing something wrong, you have to bring them into the conversation as an equal partner. Do it person to person, not player to great and powerful Oz. Do it on Teamspeak, or Skype if desired. Include an appeals process, and an option for impartial third party mediation, not a peer, friend, and co-volunteer of the great and powerful Oz.
Engage with players differently, enable players to assist with the game in ways that share the workload. Minimize the distinction between player and staff and give players the benefit of the doubt based on their experience and participation. How about: player, volunteer, assistant, builder, legend, storyteller, administrator, producer
Promote staff and player engagement outside of clan management. How about regular clan staff-player meetings, just to shoot the shit during the World Series, or to talk about different aspects of the clan on an OOC basis?